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Tebow practiced Tuesday, but playing Saturday at LSU is a different story

Tuesday was filled with positive news about Tim Tebow’s return from a concussion.

Tebow donned a full set of pads and participated in practice on a limited basis for the first time since suffering the injury on Sept. 26. And Urban Meyer revealed that in the last 48 hours, Tebow has returned to running on a treadmill, watching film, lifting weights – everything except full-contact.

Still, Meyer said don’t get too excited yet about Tebow potentially playing Saturday night when the No. 1 Gators square off against No. 4 LSU.

“I have to make that clear – he has not been cleared to play in the game Saturday night. Absolutely not,” Meyer said. “I don’t think that will happen for some time yet. Simply practiced a 20-period practice in full pads.”

Meyer said Tebow’s availability won’t be determined until “later this week” to see if any of his post-concussion symptoms return. Meyer said even if Tebow has been cleared 100 percent by his doctors, Meyer may still opt to play back-up quarterback John Brantley anyway, though Tebow will make the trip to Baton Rouge no matter what.

University of Florida sources told the Post this week that Brantley is likely to start against LSU even if Tebow is cleared by doctors.

“There’s two issues, and that’s the safety of Tim Tebow, and the football team,” Meyer said. “First thing you got to do is, ‘Is he 100 percent medically cleared?’ Then you cross the next bridge, you go one at a time.”

Brantley had taken every repetition in practice since the beginning last week, the Gators’ bye week, but Tebow and Brantley split them “50-50” on Tuesday, Meyer said. Tebow participated in position drills and 7-on-7, about 80 percent of the practice, but sat out the full team drills. Meyer said Tebow looked “a little rusty.”

After practice, Tebow snuck into a car at a back exit of the UF practice field and was shuttled off to the locker room.

Watching Tebow’s every move Tuesday were three neurologists – Dr. Patrick Jacobs and Dr. Bayard Miller of Shands at the University of Florida and Dr. Mickey Collins, an assistant director of the sports medicine concussion program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Meyer also periodically checked in Tebow during practice.

“I grabbed him and I said, ‘How are you feeling?’ ‘He said, ‘great,'” Meyer said. “But I think if symptoms show up, then that delays the whole deal.”

Tebow has followed strict guidelines for returning to field – avoiding reading, watching film and physical exercise until his symptoms went away last weekend – but he only returned to physical exertion on Monday, and still has not faced any live contact. According to generally-accepted concussion guidelines adopted by Dr. Robert Cantu, concussion victims should face full contact in practice before they return to a game situation.

Meyer said the Gators may subject Tebow to a little contact to his chest area on Wednesday, but realizes that does not exactly make him ready for LSU on Saturday.

“He obviously practiced a lot different than what’s going to happen Saturday night, so there’s still a lot of evaluation to go,” Meyer said. When asked how to keep Tebow out of harm’s way on Saturday night, Meyer said: “I don’t know how you do that – major college football game, especially the team we’re playing.”

Tebow has never missed a game in his four-year Florida career, while Brantley, a red-shirt sophomore, has never played in anything but mop-up duty.

Meyer pulled Brantley aside before Tuesday’s practice for some encouragement.

“Grabbed him right before practice and said, ‘You prepare to play the game,'” Meyer said.